Most people become frustrated at some point not making progress with their training routine, something which happens to all of us. But for some, they actually work very hard month after month and see little progress.

What is a "Hardgainer"?

You will come across people with very fast metabolisms, the ones who can eat constantly and never seem to gain weight, those who have a harder time gaining muscle than others, despite their efforts and dedication to training.

Often too, these individuals are so-called "ectomorphic" with smaller bone structures as well so they typically tend to have less muscle mass for that reason as well.

Typically the traditional term for such individuals is "hardgainer".

Is There Hope?

It is a fact that we all are limited by genetic factors and underlying limitations somehow, whether it is less than optimal hormonal health, bone structure, metabolism and even digestive and gut health and so on, but no one is essentially condemned to not being able to develop a muscular athletic physique.

Common Mistakes

Seeing gains not coming quick enough, many out of desperation will make some fairly common mistakes:

• Training too hard, too often. Easy to see how this happens as one feels they are not training hard enough or heavy enough, and they end up affecting their own recovery.
• Adding in too many non-essential exercises. Again, too much energy wasted on needless movements, rather than focusing on the basics.
• Poor nutrition. Not getting one's macronutrient requirements. This is like building a house without the proper materials or not enough of them. Ideally one needs 1.2 - 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight to gain muscle and a caloric excess of somewhere from several hundred to 500 calories a day of nutrient dense food.
• Not using progressive overload properly. We need to gradually increase the weight used in our exercises to challenge new muscle growth, but this has to be done strategically with planned deloads and periodization schemes. Again, many lift too heavy all the time.
• Manage frequency and volume properly. Too much is as bad as too little, or not enough variation. I would experiment with the routines below and try how you respond with 2-4 sessions a week.
• Going to failure. One thing about those with fast metabolisms is that they also have very active sympathetic nervous systems as well. Going to complete muscle failure when training is a sure way to halt your progress and stress your HPA axis.
• Poor rest and recovery. One cannot recover properly from hard training and gain muscle when burning the candle at both ends, not sleeping enough, or being up too late, out clubbing and so on. Train, hard yes, but see that you recover at least as hard.

Abbreviated Training Routines

If there is one person who is most responsible for the notion of "abbreviated routines", aimed primarily at those with fast metabolisms and sub-optimal genetics, it is Stuart McRobert.

His books "Brawn" and "Beyond Brawn" are must-haves for your weight training library, as they comprise some of the clearest and most commonsense knowledge and hype-free training advice ever written on the subject.

His routines are particularly aimed at those who have a hard time gaining weight, so-called "hard-gainers".

The major premise in most of his writing is that the vast majority of trainers simply do not have the recovery ability to train full-time, year round, on the typical routines we see in muscle magazines (which McRobert alleges are typically written by and for those with genetic advantages or chemically enhanced).

Those routines, McRobert maintains, will either be ineffective or eventually induce injury if one structures their training around them. He is also a promoter of: abbreviated training, progressive resistance, sleep and recovery, compound exercises, free weights. 

5 Minimalist Hardgainer Routines

With a hardgainer routine, as you can imagine, it is essential to simplify your workout routine focusing primarily on compound exercises.

The following are templates suggested by McRobert which you can use as a base for structuring your training routines.

Template 1 - Full-body-routine program

General warmup

a. Squat

b. Parallel bar dips

c. Stif-legged deadlift

d. Dumbbell press

e. Pulldowns or pullups

f. Barbell curl

g. Calf work

h. Crunch situps

Cool down

Repeat workout one 2-3 days later. 

Template 2 - Twice-a-week divided program

Monday

General warmup

a. Squat

b. Bench press or parallel bar dip

c. Pulldown or prone rows

d. Calf work

e. Back extension

f. Crunch situps

g. Grip work

Cool down

Thursday

General warmup

a. Sumo deadlift or stiff-legged deadlift

b. Overhead press

c. Curl

d. Side bend

e. Neck work

f. Lying L-fly (rotator cuff)

Cool down 

Template 3 - Three-days-a-week divided program

Monday

General warmup

a. Squat

b. Stiff-legged deadlift

c. Pulldowns

Cool down

Wednesday

General warmup

a. Calf work

b. Crunch situp

c. Grip work

d. Side bends

e. Curl

f. Neck work

g. Lying L-fly (rotator cuff)

Cool down

Friday

General warmup

a. Bench press

b. Overhead press

Cool down 

Template 4 - Super-abbreviated program

Day One

General warmup

a. Squat

b. Parallel bar dips

c. Prone rows

Cool down

Day Two

General warmup

a. Trap Bar deadlift

b. Bench press or incline press

c. Pullup (or chin)

Cool down

Repeat workout one 2-3 days later. 

Template 5 - Abbreviated Push Pull

Day One

a. Deadlift or Deadlift variant

b. Chin-up/Pull-up or Pull-down

c. Rows

d. Curls

Day Two

a. Squat

b. Lunges

c. Military Press

d. Dips

Repeat workout one 2-3 days later depending on how you feel.

How Often Should I Workout?

Most of these routines are done 2-3 times a week, depending on your recovery. Keep a detailed training journal of your progress, what you did each session and how you feel. Use this as a guide to strike a balance in your training between days on and days off.

How Many Sets and Reps?

Ideally, it is best to do anywhere from 2-4 working sets per exercise are to be done, not counting warmup sets.

Another good approach might be to do your warmup sets, then 3 sets of 5 for strength followed by some "down sets" of 2-3 sets of 15 reps with 50% of your 1 rep max for hypertrophy - before moving on to the next movement.

Putting these routines together with proper nutrition, sensible supplementation and proper rest and recovery, there is no reason why anyone cannot put on slabs of lean muscle year in, year out!